The Attempted Taming of the Jedi
by Marianne Bennet
Summary: Inspired by "The Taming of the Shrew." Jason Krash aka LS male Revan decides that he is going to "tame" Bastila Shan. He attempts to do so all through their time on Taris much to Bastila's objection. One-shot. Rated T to be safe.


The (Attempted) Taming of the Jedi

By Elle Kitty

Jason Krash flipped the +2 card and then leaned back in his chair, confidently resting his boots on the table. His green eyes danced as he awaited Mission's next move, anticipating her surrender. The one-time smuggler glanced towards the window of the Upper City apartment he and Carth had claimed as their refuge on their initial arrival on the planet Taris and, rather than looking out onto the magnificent view of skyscrapers, all he saw was a scowling Jedi Bastila. "Move," he commanded. "You're blocking the view."

"Well, you're blocking our progress," she replied. "How are we supposed to get off of this planet if we just sit around here all day? Do you plan to win passage off of Taris by playing card games?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, green eyes still fixed on Mission as the young girl deliberated her next move. "Maybe this Canderous guy likes Pazaak."

"Or maybe he'll decide that he needs someone more reliable, someone that will actually come to a rendezvous when requested to. Or maybe he'll decide to turn us over to the Sith because we annoyed him. Or maybe-"

"Or maybe you should just quit your whining and let Jason think straight for a half a moment!" interjected Carth as he polished his blaster. He was still irked by Bastila's earlier attitude. "We're all tired, if you haven't noticed, tired from running around Taris, searching top to bottom, looking for you."

"Yeah," said Mission unenthusiastically, still fixed on her cards. Jason leaned a little forward and reached across the table to touch a card but Mission slapped his hand away. "No cheating."

"What?" he asked with a lazy grin. "I just wanted to get rid of a bug."

"You expect me to believe that? I don't know how you do it, but it seems that every time you touch one of my cards, you know what it is! That's not fair so keep your hands to yourself, Mister!"

Bastila raised her eyebrows. "Captain Onasi, I would think that you of all people would be more concerned with the task at hand than with some Pazaak game. As for you, Lieutenant Krash, there are more important things than flipping cards. We are on a mission and it is imperative that we find a way off of Taris before the Sith discover our presence."

"Sure, sure," Jason grumbled. He swept the cards into a pile. "Let's get on with it."

Zaalbar roared from his corner, indicating his reluctance to go out into the Upper City and Jason nodded. "I understand, Zaalbar. So, it'll be me, Carth, and the Jedi Princess, huh? Suits me."

"My name is 'Bastila,'" she hissed in response, "and I would have a care to use it if I were you."

Jason cocked an eyebrow but Carth beat him to the punch. "The point is that, while we've all been under a lot of stress lately, we need to keep moving."

"Carth is right. It would be a mistake to allow ourselves to be lulled into a false sense of security. But now that I am back in charge of this mission-"

"You weren't ever in charge of this mission," interjected Jason. "The 'mission' was led and is being led by me and Carth. You may have been the commanding officer or something on the _Endar Spire_ but the _Spire_ is blown up, if you didn't notice. We're on a new mission now."

"Perhaps," said Bastila unwillingly, "I am not in the majority after all but, I promise you, the moment we return to Republic space, things will be different."

Satisfied, Jason grinned again. With a small smirk, he offered his arm to Bastila in some mockery of chivalry. "Shall we?"

Bastila looked at his arm and then at his face and something in her changed. She looked back to Carth and then to the door and began walking forward. "No, thank you."

.:Upper City Cantina, Taris:.

"I saw what you did in the swoop race and in the dueling ring. Very impressive."

"Dueling ring?" Bastila whispered angrily to Carth as Jason listened to Canderous Ordo's proposition. "Blast it, you let him compete in a dueling ring?"

Carth shrugged. "What can I say? The kid had talent and we needed the credits. He's the champion and he's obviously alive, so no harm done."

"So I started thinking," continued Canderous, "and I figure that anyone crazy enough to race like that or set up a death match with Bendak Starkiller" ("Deathmatch!" exclaimed Bastila) "and win is probably crazy enough to break into the Sith Military Base and 'recover' the launch codes."

A grin began to spread across Jason's face. "This is too risky," Bastila felt the need to interrupt. "We should find another way. This would put us directly in the path of the Sith."

"You got another plan, sister?" asked Canderous, the corners of his mouth quirking upwards in amusement. "I didn't think so. Besides, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to your friend. And your friend seems perfectly willing to break into said facility."

Canderous related the rest of his plan and Jason grabbed Canderous's outstretched hand and shook it. Chagrined, Bastila turned away and walked off in a huff.

"Something tells me that we're going to be spending a lot of time together if you actually go through with this," commented the Mandalorian. "Either on the _Ebon Hawk _or in the Sith's torture chambers. Was that your girlfriend? You know, the pretty one with the stick up her-"

Carth coughed pointedly and Jason rolled his eyes, saying, "No. Thank the Force, no."

"That's a shame. She isn't bad looking, if you look past that arrogant look plastered on her face. What's gotten her so uptight?"

Jason and Carth exchanged a look, uncertain as to whether they should reveal Bastila's identity as a Jedi. "I don't know," answered Jason hesitantly. "I haven't known her for very long."

The Mandalorian snorted. "Maybe you should, you know, get to _know_ her, if you catch my drift. Might make her a whole lot more pleasant." He then shouldered his repeating blaster as though it were a toy and said, "I'll be waiting in Javiar's Cantina down in the Lower City. You come and find me when you've got those launch codes."

As Canderous exited the cantina, Jason and Carth looked to each other and grimaced at the thought of now having to placate Bastila. "Maybe Canderous had a point," said Jason thoughtfully. "Maybe we should, you know…"

Carth shook his head forcefully. "Not me. If anyone is going to romance that Jedi, it isn't going to be me."

Jason flashed another confident smile. "I think I can be quite charming when I want to be. Besides, I swear she wants me."

Shaking his head, Carth retreated to the bar and Jason swaggered into the room with the band. Bastila was arguing with a man Jason knew as Jorgen.

"I promise you, this band will be famous! Just twenty credits and I can get you a behind-the-scenes meeting with the band! You can't miss out on this extraordinary opportunity."

"First of all, I think their music is absolutely horrible! Second, twenty credits is far too large a fee to meet some backwater band on some backwater planet. Third-"

That was when Jason cut in. "She's not interested, as you can tell." Then, guiding Bastila from the room with his hand placed on the small of her back, he said, "Why couldn't you have just let it go?"

Affronted, she exclaimed, "He was trying to cheat me!"

"And so will about ninety-nine point nine percent of the people you'll meet. Just let it go next time. You're obviously got two working legs." His green eyes glanced downwards with an admiring look to said legs. "Use them to walk away."

Bastila hit him on the shoulder. Unfortunately, it did not have much of an effect. "Stop leering at me," she commanded.

"So that wasn't you back there at the swoop race stealing glances at me from between your eyelashes?"

"I obviously was attempting to evaluate each swoop rider I saw, you among them. I wanted to see if you were actually going to try and win me. You weren't very impressive."

"You obviously didn't get a look at my time on the scoreboard."

"Considering that my holding cell was directly below said scoreboard and I was pretending to be incapacitated, no. But I did see the feeds of your race."

"And what did you think of them?"

"I thought you raced like an idiot with a large ego." The confident smile faded from Jason's face as she said this. "You were sloppy with no calculation involved. You felt like moving to the left so you moved to the left. You didn't see the accelerator on the track that jettisoned you into a pile of debris."

"It's called 'instinct,' princess. And I won that race."

"I call it carelessness. And you only 'won' because I stepped into the brawl that followed your 'victory.'"

His grin reappeared. "I don't think you know how careless I can be."

"I'm not certain that I want to know. Not when our lives and whatever information the Sith can torture out of us are at stake!"

"You are too worried," he informed her as he pulled up a bar stool, took her shoulders, and pushed her onto the seat. Languorously, he settled himself on another seat and rapped his knuckles on the countertop. "Can't we all just get along? Drinks are on me."

"No-" Bastila began to protest but it was too late. The bartender had come by and deposited two glasses on Tarisian Ale in front of them. "No," she repeated as Jason pushed one glass towards her.

"Go for it, princess."

"My name is 'Bastila Shan' and you will address me as such."

Jason shook his finger. "I wouldn't be throwing that name around, princess. Sith have been known to frequent this cantina. So, I don't know what you're talking about, princess."

"If we must refer to one another by false names, I am certainly not going to be 'princess.'"

"I don't see why not. You certainly hold yourself to be a princess. In your mind, you're princess of Carth, princess of me. Force knows you were princess of the entire _Spire _and the rest of the Jedi your fawning court. You were princess of swoop race prizes and the princess in the escape pod. You're princess of Battle Meditation, princess of the double-bladed yellow lightsaber, princess of sentinels and princess of padawans. You are an heiress to the Jedi and a veritable queen of scorn. And besides, you hold yourself to be such so I don't understand why you don't want me to just anoint you now. And I myself am moved to be your most abject valet."

"If you are so 'moved' why don't you go move yourself somewhere else?"

"You could walk away at any time."

"I cannot and you know that! You have your entire weight pressed down on my foot!" And, in truth, he did.

"I just want you to have a drink."

"I have never drank alcohol in my life and I am not about to begin now!"

"No time like the present. Watch, it's easy." And with that he drank down a few gulps of his cup. With a satisfied smirk, he looked at Bastila. "Now you drink or I'll have to finish my glass and then yours and you won't like me when I have that much alcohol in my system."

"You just as intolerable as you were before!"

A look of confusion crossed Jason's face; he could not remember a time when he had met Bastila Shan in his past. But just as he was about to argue, Carth stepped out of the crowd and broke into the fray.

"No. No drinking games. That's pushing it, Jason."

"I thank you, Captain Onasi," said Bastila in a relieved tone, using the tips of her fingers to push her glass as far away as possible. "I will have to commend your good sense to the Council, should we ever make it that far. As for you, Lieutenant Krash-"

"Yeah, yeah," Jason sounded dismissive. "Keep your compliments to yourself. We'll have to finish that game later." He winked at her.

Once more in a snit, the Jedi walked towards the exit with her nose held at a slightly higher angle than otherwise necessary. Jason watched her go with subdued laughter but Carth shook his head. "Are you sure you're not pushing it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "She wants me. Can you doubt that?"

Carth hid his amusement at the attitude of the man only a few years his junior. "Time for damage control.

.:Upper City Apartment:.

Bastila tucked a few locks of brown hair behind her ears and fussed with the strand that always refused to part in the right direction. Gathering the rest of her hair into a practical bun at the base of her neck, she stepped forward towards the sink and splashed cool water onto her face. She dried off with a fresh towel and then turned to exit the refresher. To her annoyance, she bumped into the person she least wanted to see that morning.

Jason held a black toothbrush in one hand, a tube of toothpaste in the other, and wore a smile on his face. "Morning, Princess. I had a dream about you last night."

"Spare me." She tried to push past him but came into contact with his bare chest, which made her jump backwards in embarrassment.

He stepped up to the sink, putting himself directly in Bastila's path to the door. Pinned against the shower door, Bastila tried to collect her dignity as he said, "So, I had this dream of you. You were fighting someone –I think it was a dark Jedi or something –and then you said something noble and courageous like, 'You cannot win, Revan.' And then Revan started doing some badass moves with his lightsaber. And then you all fell down. But the shocking thing was: you were _fighting_. Here I was, thinking that all you could do was act snippy and yell at people and you can fight too?" Jason turned and looked at her with a mouth full of toothpaste. "I'm almost impressed."

That was highly offensive to Bastila but there was the unsettling fact that he had seen something from her past in one of his dreams. "It's interesting that you saw that," she said, trying to contain her temper. "We fought together on the swoop track and perhaps in the heat of battle, our minds were able to connect for a moment, a nanosecond, and in that moment some of my more powerful memories were duplicated in your mind."

"You sure it wasn't something else?"

"Well… it's unheard of… but not impossible… that for some reason our minds developed some kind of bond. But that's highly unlikely. It would have taken a key moment in battle to forge that kind of connection."

Jason spat the toothpaste out into the sink. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, he said, "That's not the first time I've had a dream of you fighting."

Blood running cold for a moment, Bastila replied, "Really?"

"Yep. After Carth and I crashed here, I was out for a couple of days. I dreamed of you fighting then too." He rinsed out his mouth and then turned to look at the Jedi. "You sure we haven't met before?"

"Absolutely certain," she answered automatically.

Seemingly satisfied with this reply, Jason stepped away from the mirror and stretched. Bastila attempted to avert her eyes and he noticed. "See something you like?"

"You are easily the vainest, most arrogant man I have ever met! Besides, I know that you can't be serious because I was purposefully _not_ staring in your direction!"

"You sure you don't see anything… interesting about me?" he smirked.

"You have toothpaste all around your mouth and it appears as though you are suffering from rabies," she responded coolly and pushed past him into the apartment, "which would explain quite a bit, including your erratic behavior."

Carth stepped into the refresher once Bastila exited. He glanced at the Jedi's retreating back and then raised his eyebrows at Jason. The smuggler smiled cockily and repeated his earlier explanation. "She wants me."

"I'm finding that harder and harder to believe," Carth sighed.

.:Outside of the Sith Military Base:.

Taris was one of those few planets that are more impressive at night than during the day. That newfound opinion colored Bastila's thoughts as she looked out onto the city. She turned and looked back at where Jason was working with their new companion, T3-M4, on the door to the Sith Military Base. _And Lieutenant Jason Krash is one of those men who look more handsome when working than when drinking. _

As though he could hear Bastila's thoughts, Jason looked up and smiled at her. "You wanted to say something to me?"

Blushing despite her usual temperament, Bastila stuttered out a "What makes you think that?"

He shrugged, getting up off of his knees and running a hand through his blonde hair. "Lucky guess," he said, "or an educated one, if the way your face keeps scrunching up like a Gamorrean attempting to think."

"I am a Jedi. I am far too controlled to allow my emotions to affect my body language."

"Are you sure you don't want to ask me if you want to finish up that drinking game? I might just say 'yes.'"

"What?" No!" Bastila objected passionately. "Why must you always make this so difficult? I swear that, should you push me any further, you may end up in the Tarisian medical center with severe head trauma!"

Jason only laughed. "So, the princess does have a dark side. I'm having fun. Aren't you having as much fun as I am?"

"Hardly. I suppose this is what a man child considers 'witty.' But, speaking of the Dark Side, I have been thinking about the vision you told me about. Usually such visions are an indication of… well, of Force sensitivity. Perhaps, well, perhaps if you were younger…"

"What?" he raised an eyebrow. "You don't like older guys?"

"Will you allow me to finish? And –besides, you aren't that much older than me –never mind. Anyways, if you were of a younger age, perhaps the Jedi Council might consider you for training. Now, that's all I am going to say because I am sure that, should I say any more, you will twist my words around as you always do."

"Me? A Jedi? Is that what you're saying? But –wouldn't that be your worst nightmare?"

"Perhaps it would be," said Bastila unwillingly, "but the decision is not mine. It is my duty to report your sensitivity to the Council and then they –and only they –will decide what to do about it. Now, can we please get back to the task at hand?"

Jason bowed mockingly. "At your service, princess."

"Will you please stop that? Lieutenant Krash-"

"Why do you keep doing that? My name is Jason. Why can't you use it? Are you afraid that will establish the fact that we're equals or something? Why are you so afraid of me?"

"I am _not _afraid of you!"

"Then you're afraid of what you feel for me? Because you can't deny it. You waste a lot of energy being nasty to me, you know. If you didn't care about me or what I did, you wouldn't even bring yourself to acknowledge me, would you? Because that's how all of the soldiers on the _Spire _felt about you and the rest of Jedi, did you know? Carth included. You Jedi came on board and started demanding things, my transfer included. If you wanted me on that ship, why don't you want me here?"

Humbled, Bastila could not think of anything to say for a moment. "There are –reasons, some of them incredibly complex and impossible for me to explain. I didn't think that you would be like this. Please, leave it. Let it go. I –I didn't realize that I was being so… presumptuous. But you…"

Jason was silent for a moment. "Perhaps I was a little too… difficult," he finally said. "I suppose that I have been feeling a little caged. I'm not used to being trapped on one planet and I'm used to being in charge. I'm used to captaining my own ship. But so are you. Maybe, from now on, we can work together. How does that sound?"

She nodded. "Perhaps when we reach Dantooine, we can settle this. The masters there will know what to do about your visions and, well… your significance in all of this. You were obviously the catalyst in the events leading up to my rescue and I thank you for it. But, please: _will you stop teasing me_?"

Laughing, he replied, "I don't know. I told you, it is fun. Maybe, someday you'll think it's fun too."

"That is highly unlikely. A Jedi must be serious when matters are serious. And matters are serious right now. Maybe later… but it's highly unlikely."

"Then think about what kind of Jedi I'd turn out to be."

_I'm not sure that I want to, _thought Bastila sadly.

.:Jedi Enclave, Dantooine:.

Jason fidgeted with his stiff new Jedi robes and for some reason could not keep still. Bastila reached up and straightened his collar. "Can't keep your hands off of me, can you?"

"You're supposed to be serious now. And I can't allow you to go and become a member of the Jedi Order while looking like this." She stepped backwards with a frown. "Is that… alcohol on your breath?"

"Might be."

"Jason-"

"Since when did you become my wife?" Bastila didn't reply to that. Jason sighed and said, "You want to speak to me?"

"How can you tell?"

"You ask me that every time and every time it's the same answer: you keep staring at me so what am I supposed to think?"

"I've just been thinking about what the Council said about the bond between us. It's there, I cannot dispute that but-"

"I think you're more interested in something else about me than just the bond."

"Please! I am a Jedi and you are now one too-"

"Not a Jedi yet. In a few minutes, maybe, but not yet."

Either way, such attractions, well, they're beneath us quite frankly. I admit I find you intriguing… I mean I find your command of the Force intriguing but-"

"You're fighting a losing argument," Jason told her.

"Alright then," said Bastila, giving up. "There's a mutual attraction between the two of us. As frustrating as it is, we can't do anything about it. Please, just go out there and become a Jedi already so we can stop talking about this!"

In a bad temper once more, she exited to take her place with the Jedi masters. Carth walked in through the door as she left. Jason smirked at him. "I told you she wanted me."

"But don't tell me you don't want her too now."

Jason shook his head and looked towards where Bastila had left. "I can't say that. But in a few minutes, this is all going to get a lot harder."

End.

A/N: Hello all. A few years ago, I was rereading _The Taming of the Shrew _by William Shakespeare and this idea came to me. In particular, the scene in the cantina was inspired by Petruchio's "Kate" speech (Act 2, Scene 1). I wrote a draft and it's been sitting in my notebook for a very long time. I decided to type it up and restore it. This story has been fueled by the everlasting power of Neccos and the song "Save the Day" by Train. Please read and review.


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